Ballardini: 'Extraordinary Genoa Derby'

Davide Ballardini realises just how important the Derby della Lanterna is for the city, the fans and their hopes of staying in Serie A. “I need an extraordinary Genoa.”

DavideBallardinirealises just how important the Derby dellaLanterna is for the city, the fans and their hopes of staying in Serie A. “I need an extraordinary Genoa.”

The Rossoblu are in joint-penultimate place going into this weekend, on a par with Palermo and Siena, so rivals Sampdoria could push them towards relegation. Click here for a match preview[12].

It would be ‘revenge,’ as two years ago it was a Sampdoria victory in this fixture that sent Genoa into Serie B.

“No, I don’t fear any revenge from Sampdoria,” shrugged Ballardini. “Tomorrow we need the right sporting aggression from my players.

“The Derby is a fundamental game and after that we have two matches against Atalanta and Chievo where we have a good chance of picking up important points.

“I need to see an extraordinary Genoa, just as our fans were during the week when thousands of them attended training to cheer us on.

“Sampdoria are tough opponents and solid, but they have already achieved safety. Our plan is to always take the initiative and control the game without leaving spaces. It will require a great performance.”

Juraj Kucka had been in doubt due to a knock, but he took part in the full training session and can start, whereas Marco Rossi, Cesare Bovo and Damiano Ferronetti miss out.